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Updated: Aug 9, 2025
Microfluidic Device for Recreating a Tumor Microenvironment in Vitro
Published on: November 20, 2011
Pixelated Microfluidics for Drug Screening on Tumour Spheroids and Ex Vivo Microdissected Tumour Explants
Dina Dorrigiv1,2, Pierre-Alexandre Goyette2, Amélie St-Georges-Robillard1,3
1Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Institut du Cancer de Montréal, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada.
Abstract:
Anticancer drugs have the lowest success rate of approval in drug development programs. Thus, preclinical assays that closely predict the clinical responses to drugs are of utmost importance in both clinical oncology and pharmaceutical research. 3D tumour models preserve the tumoral architecture and are cost- and time-efficient. However, the short-term longevity, limited throughput, and limitations of live imaging of these models have so far driven researchers towards less realistic tumour models such as monolayer cell cultures. Here, we present an open-space microfluidic drug screening platform that enables the formation, culture, and multiplexed delivery of several reagents to various 3D tumour models, namely cancer cell line spheroids and ex vivo primary tumour fragments. Our platform utilizes a microfluidic pixelated chemical display that creates isolated adjacent flow sub-units of reagents, which we refer to as fluidic 'pixels', over tumour models in a contact-free fashion. Up to nine different treatment conditions can be tested over 144 samples in a single experiment. We provide a proof-of-concept application by staining fixed and live tumour models with multiple cellular dyes. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the response of the tumour models to biological stimuli can be assessed using the platform. Upscaling the microfluidic platform to larger areas can lead to higher throughputs, and thus will have a significant impact on developing treatments for cancer.
Insights
A novel microfluidic platform enables high-throughput drug screening using 3D tumor models. This technology improves preclinical cancer drug development by mimicking tumor architecture for more accurate response prediction.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Drug Development
- Microfluidics
Background:
- Anticancer drug development has low approval rates, necessitating better preclinical assays.
- 3D tumor models offer realistic architecture but face limitations like short lifespan and low throughput.
- Current research often relies on less predictive monolayer cell cultures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an advanced microfluidic platform for 3D tumor model drug screening.
- To enable multiplexed reagent delivery and assessment of drug responses in various 3D tumor models.
- To overcome the limitations of existing 3D tumor models for enhanced drug discovery.
Main Methods:
- An open-space microfluidic platform with a pixelated chemical display was engineered.
- The platform facilitates the formation, culture, and reagent delivery to 3D tumor models (spheroids, ex vivo fragments).
- Contact-free delivery of up to nine different treatment conditions across 144 samples per experiment was achieved.
Main Results:
- Proof-of-concept demonstrated by multiplexed staining of fixed and live tumor models.
- The platform successfully assessed the response of tumor models to biological stimuli.
- The system allows for scalable, high-throughput screening of anticancer drugs.
Conclusions:
- The microfluidic platform enhances the utility of 3D tumor models for drug screening.
- This technology can significantly improve the prediction of clinical drug responses in oncology.
- Upscaling the platform promises to accelerate the development of novel cancer treatments.
